Breakdown

Groundstrokes: 7.9

Our playtesters found the Volkl Vostra V9 290g to be extremely maneuverable and spin-friendly on groundstrokes. The racquet's low-powered nature, paired with the 16x19 string pattern, allowed our testers to open up the court wider than usual, giving them "put-away" shots more frequently, though they sometimes had trouble actually ending points with those put-away shots. Brittany explained, "Believe it or not, this was my first time playtesting a Volkl 9 model here at Tennis Warehouse, and I was intrigued with the unique specs. When I was on the baseline, I found the Vostra V9 290g offered a lower-powered, more control-oriented response. I also really appreciated the launch angle. It was high enough to get my shots deep in the court but not so high that they were sailing long. The racquet was easy to maneuver, and it was pretty effortless when it came to rotating my wrist, which translated to some nice spin. I loved to practice and hit long rallies with the Vostra V9 290g because it was easy to get in a groove. However, when it came to match play, I struggled to put away shots during points, and I noticed more of my shots came back from my opponent. I adjusted by focusing on smaller targets instead of pace. I will say this racquet was better on my slice than I expected, and I was able to execute some defensive slice backhands to stay in points.”

Tiffani had similar thoughts when she was finished with her playtest. She said, "I immediately found the Vostra V9 290 easy to swing, with a lower powered response. I could pick my targets, and I thought the directional targeting was good with this racquet. I liked that I could easily whip it through contact when needed for added topspin, and I could also drive a flat ball when I wanted to. Where I struggled was with the lighter weight and head-light balance. When I missed the sweetspot, the racquet didn't feel stable enough and left the ball short."

The Vostra V9 290g complemented Mark's counterpunching style. He was able to hit with a ton of pace and spin, but he also found reliable stability. He said, "No doubt, most of my time on the tennis court is spent at the baseline, and for me, trading groundstrokes is one of the best ways to determine if a racquet is light enough to be maneuverable, yet heavy enough to be stable when I want to change the direction of the ball. Overall, the Vostra 9 290g was comfy and easy to develop pace with, and it provided good stability — at least until ball pace was super excessive."

As much fun as Jason had playing with the Vostra 9 290g, he too found it hard to put away winners. He said, "This is a very, very easy-to-swing racquet — almost too easy to swing at times — because I felt like I was ahead of the ball in certain situations. The maneuverability and the open string pattern really allowed me to get tons of spin on my shots. It was great for rallying and warming up, but once it came to point play, I noticed that I was having more trouble putting shots away and winning points in general. It lacks the mass I need to really hurt my opponents."

Volleys: 7.8

The speed and agility of the Vostra V9 290g were on full display at the net. The playtesters thoroughly enjoyed this racquet on volleys, but they noted some instability when playing bigger hitters. Mark was the first to point that out. He said, "I was able to work with the Volkl V9 290g's theme of speed, agility and limited stability at net. There were some instances when I had to squeeze the handle a little tighter to prevent the racquet from fluttering under the weight of a hard passing shot, but overall my volleys and half volleys were effective."

Brittany expected a little instability considering the weight of this racquet. She also went on to mention that she struggled to connect with the racquet on certain shots. She described, "Like I will mention in almost every other stroke category, the Vostra V9 290g was extremely easy to get into position up at net, and I was able to execute a variety of volleys during practice and rallies. However, when reaching for a volley or when I was in a quick volley exchange, I noticed at times the racquet was getting pushed around or fluttering upon impact, which, to be honest, I expected given its weight. I struggled to feel connected with the Vostra V9 290g, and I thought the sweetspot was on the smaller side, so this racquet wasn’t very forgiving."

As much as Jason appreciated the maneuverability of the Vostra V9 290g, he would have preferred a bit more feel and stability instead. He said, "I loved how maneuverable this racquet was up at net, but I think I'd trade some of that maneuverability for a bit more stability. For me, it was lacking in feel. I felt slightly disconnected from my shots, which made judging touch shots tougher."

The issue of instability continued as Tiffani hit the court. However, she was able to find a way to make up for it. She said, "My main concern at net is how easily I can get a racquet into position. When I feel comfortable that I can get the racquet out in front in time, it boosts my confidence. This Vostra V9 290g definitely delivered on the maneuverability front. I felt quick enough to have a shot at the passing attempts, but I did need to use a firm hand at contact to help combat the lighter weight. With that tactic, I could punch volleys deep. If I didn’t tightening my grip I could feel some instability outside the sweetspot."

Serves: 8.0

Serving with the Vostra V9 290g was the highlight of the playtest for our team. They reported that the Vostra V9 290g allowed them to add a ton of spin to their serves thanks to its maneuverability and open string pattern. Mark also thought it was easy to add a bit of power to his serves. He said, "For such a lightweight racquet, the Vostra V9 290g was all-court capable, but I liked serving with it the best — maybe even more than serving with its heavier counterpart, the Vostra V9 305g. It was easy to get the ball too deep with the 290, but this racquet was not fussy at all when trying to add more power by swinging faster."

With the Vostra V9 290g in her hands, Brittany found she could consistently hit her biggest serves and still keep the ball in. She complimented the speed of this Vostra, which helped her hit big kick serves. She said, "I was surprised by how well I served with the Volstra V9 290g, and this ended up being one of my favorite shots to hit with it. I was able to get decent pace on my serves, and I believe that was due to the ease of getting the racquet up and over my head and generating racquet head speed. I actually had one playtester comment that my first serve was coming in with serious pace. I was also able to rotate my wrist to add plenty of spin to my kick second serve. However, due to the lack of mass, neither my first nor my second serve had much weight behind them, and if I wasn't careful with my targets, my opponent could step in and take a good rip at the ball."

As much as Jason loved the Vostra V9 290g's whippy nature, he struggled to add pop and power to his flatter serves. He said, "I had no trouble putting spin on my serves and slicing them in, and I was serving at a high percentage with this racquet for sure. The problem for me was that my serves arrived at their destination without much pop, so my opponents had time to set up and tee off.”

While the Vostra V9 290g isn't the type of racquet Tiffani would usually choose to serve with, she found herself appreciating its fast-swinging nature and spin potential. She explained, "I typically prefer heavier racquets on serve because they plow through the ball better and help make my motion smoother. However, I couldn't resist the easy wrist snap of this Vostra V9 290g. I felt like I was hitting more spin on my serves than usual, and I enjoyed swinging my serves out wide on the deuce side."

Returns: 7.9

Hitting returns with the Vostra V9 290g was quite fun for our team, and the open string pattern and whippy nature of the racquet allowed our testers to get lots of depth and spin on the ball. However, they reported stability issues when playing against big servers. Mark was able to chip the ball back consistently with lots of depth. He said, "Due to relying on a chip-style swing, my return of serve is a lot like retrieving a heavy shot using a half volley. That said, until serve pace became extremely heavy, I had good return depth and consistency with the Vostra 9 290g."

Brittany loved the combination of the control-oriented frame paired with the extreme maneuverability. Nevertheless, she did have some issues against bigger servers. She said, "The combination of a more control-oriented response and easy maneuverability made it effortless to get my returns into play. I preferred hitting second serve returns because I didn't have to worry about any stability issues and could really go after my return. When it came to first serve returns, there were numerous occasions when a fast, hard-hit serve caused the racquet to twist in my hand slightly, pushing it around so I couldn't block the ball back."

Taking full advantage of the speedy nature of the Vostra V9 290g, Jason was taking huge swings at the ball with tons of racquet head speed. Even so, he thought this racquet could benefit from a little more weight in the head. He described, "I could really swing out on all my returns, which was fun. It didn't matter if I was returning a first or second serve, I felt like I could quickly get the racquet going and into position. I would've liked a bit more weight in the hoop to make my shots more penetrating, but spin production was excellent."

The Vostra V9 290g gave Tiffani a ton of net clearance and depth on her returns, though stability could be touch-and-go due to the racquet's light weight. She said, "Although I usually prefer to return, I gave the slight edge to serves for this review. I liked how quickly this racquet came around my body, and I could use full swings to attack weaker serves. However, this is the shot where I really missed the added weight of my usual racquets. I stood farther back on first serve returns to give the ball time to decelerate because I could feel the racquet twist in my hands on heavier hit serves. Otherwise, I continued to enjoy the lower powered response of this racquet."

Breakdown Summary